Can I do it? Yes I can!

The only words to get me there.

Last night when checking the weather it said windy, even with an icon so it was really going to be windy.  I wondered how that would affect my cycle ride and especially now it has increased to 30mins.

Well I woke up wondering if i should ride now as it seemed calm, but yet I am not confident to go out at 6am.  So I got ready for the day like normal constantly wondering if I should have gone as I watched the weather close in. Martin got picked up for work so I now only had the afternoon now to ride.

It rained and it blew and was gray and miserable all day.  The day was normal with Mainly Music and the varying kindy drop off and pick up times.

We picked Martin up from the bus and went to the bank.  We got home about 4.20pm and that meant no time to think just change and go.  I had tried to work out the wind direction to choose which part of the course I do in a head wind.  I took off on the road first and pedalled the whole way down the long road which was impressive as normally I try to glide when tired.  I then turned up a main road to get to the cycle track and it is a very slight hill with a head wind, I struggled and knew what I was yet to face. 1400metres of head wind on the exposed cycle track.

I rode and felt pulled as the wind was catching in my wind breaker hood.  So I carefully tucked it in while balancing so not to fall.  I rode and would get caught in a wind pocket and it felt like I was pedalling on the spot.  I was encouraged as I crossed each of the 100metre markers.  The ride was intense so I had to push myself with  Control (to master the wind) Perseverance (as that is what I needed) Endurance (the section of training) The Goal (I have to do this to achieve MY goal).  Over and over I repeated these 4 words.

I realised I was nearly home and still had 8minutes to spare.  I ventured into the head wind some more and travelled another block down than usual and was home but still 5 minutes to spare.  I travelled towards another block and circled that and made it home.  I did it.

Control, Perseverance, Endurance, The GOAL.  All achieved today.  One massive tick. Horay.

Lets see what I can do with 30minutes tomorrow running, or attempt of running.

This is short and sweet today.

I got up and weighed in and yahoo or phew.  I lost 700gm so not far till in a new starting figure.  I am currently 92.1kg.  I am now looking forward to hitting the 89kg mark.  I have lost 6.3kg thus far.  My 10% weightloss goal is also fast approaching. 88.2kg, so two mini goals so close. 

I got ready and started my Turbo Jam session and really enjoyed it.  I even focused more on the stance for the abs.  So hopefully with the better technique will come better looking abs.

Here’s to hope.

Well a lovely dinner last night.  Butter Chicken, rice and a glass of wine.  Very pleasant and wonderful company.  Martin and I then went to see what movies were on but none of them were worth the cost per ticket.  Instead we opted for a DVD.  “Dan in real Life”.  It was quite a good flick.

Got up and went on my 15min run.  Boy was I impressed.  I ran the length of the block easily so kept going, not must further mind you.  It was exciting as it was easy and I knew I was getting fitter and able to handle this running thing.  I am still worried that I need to run that length 5 times to do stage 1 of the Duathlon and only have 12weeks to achieve this.  In the mean time I will bask in the glory that I have come a long way from where I began as a couch potato and heading to the 100kg mark.  I have lost nearly 7kg and have shaved time off my bike ride and can run a length of a block.  I have also learnt and now practicing a breathing technique that is working wonders for longevity.

Today Dayna was complaining of a sore ear.  After 4hours of her complaining we took her to After hours and waited 2hours to be seen.  She is on another course of anit biotics and hopefully this will clear the infection.

I was naughty as not in a good mood I fell by the wayside and had KFC.  It didn’t even taste good but sure ate through my points.  Tonight I am having a salad to help even out the playing field. Boo hoo hoo

Tomorrow is weigh day so I will let you know the outcome.  But it is not only weigh day it is week 4 of my programme so time to step it up.  I will enter “Endurance”  yes things are going into another gear.  Hope I can handle the intensity.

The rest of my Friday was busy and that is without kids.  After I dropped Isaiah at Kindy I went to the mall to buy a gift for our anniversary as hadn’t found anything I wanted so did the best of it.  I ordered a rose to be sent to Martin’s work and bought a picture frame, that I could write on to give the affect of the frames I had been looking for.

I also was on the search for Snifters.  I don’t know if you heard but Pascall’s have stopped making them.  Martin loves Snifters so I thought it would be nice to buy some and give as part of the gift.  Well I went to 3 supermarkets and The Warehouse but nobody had them.  I was so disappointed.  I also knew my sister was hunting for some to take to Mum in Oz when she goes over for Mum’s birthday.

After my hunt I went back to Kindy to help with the library visit.  I always help on Isaiah’s week.  I know most of the kids names so is nice to go and help.  When we got to the library I saw a book in the window called “I am Deaf”.  I wanted to get the book to look over with Dayna and hope it preped her for wearing a hearing aid.  In this book it talked about special devices you can get like a ‘shake awake’ alarm clock.  You put it under the pillow and when it goes off it shakes and you wake up.  Also smoke alarms that attach to the lights so the lights go on if there is a fire.  The book is from NZ so I know there are things that are avaialbe to assist her, although she is only partially deaf.

After Kindy I came home to blob a bit before picking up Dayna.  Dayna only wet through once at daycare so that was excting.  Although 3 times once she got home.  We also picked up Martin and had a lazy afternoon and evening at home.  We had Chilli con Carne I had made and froze so it was an easy meal.

I got up today still feeling fluey and knew Saturday had chores galore to get through.  Dishes from yesterday (I did say it was a lazy afternoon), laundry to fold, beds to strip and housework to do.  Well we are half way through the list and the day.  I did go out for my bike ride .

I didn’t prepare properly as forgot my watch and lip balm.  I struggled to begin as felt the affects of ill health and also my lips were dry.  Today is also a cold day so I felt the cool air and wished I added an extra layer of clothing.  I followed the usual route and pushed my way home.  I put my own bike away and the transition to walking wasn’t as bad as the other time.  I got inside and Martin said I was back in 22mins.  Yay I have finally shaved 3 mins off my time and while sick.  That is exciting as I have been worried how the heck am I going to double the length with only an extra 10mins to do it in and also after I have been running.  There is hope for me afterall.

Tonight we are going out for dinner to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary.  I am so stoked as it hasn’t been that hard to get to this point and I still love Martin with all my heart.  He is lovely and so supportive and great with the kids and handsome to boot.  So a whole package.  (Ok go get the bucket, lol.)  The only thing is we love a little Indian restaurant as they have the best Butter Chicken.  The only thing is that meal is the worst for points so I am having to be cautious today with food options so I can enjoy myself tonight.

Cheers to love and friendship.

Ok so I am sick,  I keep coughing and loosing my voice, peace some say.  Well not only that but my head is pounding from wake up.

It was my rest day but it felt anything but.  I went to work today.  There was a parent course on and I offered to work in the creche.  Two of us with 15kids originally didn’t seem bad until they all started crying as didn’t want us but wanted their mum.  One would start and the others went for the sympathy cry.  3.5hours I was there with my head taking on all the sounds of crying.

Once it was over I had the pick up and drop off trek to do.  Dayna didn’t want me to leave her at kindy which was a pain as I was so tired and sore I couldn’t stay.  All I could do was tell her in my emotional state and hope she understood.  A 3yr old doesn’t get it.  A teacher luckily took over.  After Kindy we got Martin who finished early for me, he needed to go to the mall so another place full of noise.  I let Isaiah play at the small playground and I just sat and watched.  Dayna went with Martin, and did wees on him.

Did I tell you that she is toilet training so add that to the mix and life is doing my head in and I don’t even have any work to complicate things.

Well I was so ready for bed and luckily I crashed and didn’t wake till my bladder spoke to me but it was alarm time so that was good. 

I felt yuck getting up and my head was still exhausted and my cold thing was bad as.  I plugged through a session of Turbo Jam but knew I wasn’t giving it anywhere near what I have in the past.  I just didn’t have it in me.  I had my shower and we went through the normal routines of getting out the door.  But before Martin left I got him to take my measurements.

I was doing that today as thought it was the 19th August I last did it but it was the 25th.  The 19th is when I changed my eating habbits but the 25th was when I started my exercise programme.  Anyway I digress.  I lost cm’s nearly everywhere so that is exciting and put me in a better mood.

Neck lost 1.5cm           Upper Arm lost 2.1cm             Chest lost 4.5cm                                                   Waist lost 4cm                  Hips lost 5cm          Upper Leg lost 1cm            Calf lost nothing    

So I look forward to the next month and see where the weight has gone from      

Well because I have started training so early I decided my fitness wasn’t ready for me to move up to the next section of training.  So I decided to do one more week of ‘Fitness’ before moving to ‘Endurance’.  Due to this decision I did a bike ride yesterday although was cutting it fine for time. 

I rode down the cycle track got to the end and rode back as the track is smooth so thought it might be a bit quicker, which it was.  I still did my 20mins but the other route takes about 25mins.  I must admit I wasn’t that keen either as had a headache and a work meeting to go to.  I can’t believe how rude people are though.  The track is for walking and riding but every one whether on their feet or bike expected me to veer off the track and ride on the grass.  Can’t they see I am still wobbly? I was willing to move for people pushing buggies but other cyclists that look so competent and for people walking two a breast I thought a little consideration could be shown.

The meeting went longer than I thought was necessary and as I was locking up I had to be the last to leave.  Luckily everyone was willing to help with the dishes and pack up.

Today I woke tired as Dayna had got into our bed and kicked and hit for the 90mins.  I was slow to get moving this morning due to the tiredness and also knowing I had a run to do so didn’t see the point of a shower at this point, so my schedule was out too.

I got the kids dropped off and eventually got home to the thought of a run but wanted to catch up with my friends in cyber world.  I then got on my way to run.  I was walking faster than I have and ran the block length but had to stop part way.  I think this is partly due to focusing on my breathing.  It was suggested to breathe through the nose and out through the mouth.  I worked hard on this and feel it worked but did struggle making it the whole length.  From here I did my two posts run and two posts walk.  I kept the momentum going and felt that my breathing was better and therefore felt I was running better or maybe my fitness is improving.

That reminds me, one of my cyber friends suggested it was time we do a fitness test.  To do this we need to do step ups on to a 45cm bench.  We have 1 minute to do 30 steps ups.  You then record your pulse at certain intervals.  Well if you know me you know I am short.  My leg length from floor to knee is about 43cm so to step up 45cm is quite an effort.  Last time I did this 2 months ago I misread the instructions so screwed it up well and truely, this time I got it right.  Anyway I had average fitness level (95) but at the end which is nearly good.  That in itself is exciting.  I will do this again in 2 months and see what improvement there is.

On the note of recording I am redoing my measurements on Friday so will let you know what loss I have had from a month ago when I started this journey.

Tomorrow is a rest day which I need as over the last few days I have been getting sick.  I have a throat cold.  I keep coughing with this little tickle.  So running gave me a very dry and sore throat.  I am surprised that in my healthy ways I have become sick yet again.  It was not that long ago I was really sick well maybe 7 weeks ago.  What the heck is that about.

Friday I will update you with my exercise journey and measurements.

Well the party was good and the kids enjoyed themselves.  I am sure with all the running round and climbing on the many things Lollipops have the kids would have burnt off the yummy birthday food they ate.  All we could muster for dinner was frozen meals.  Mine was nice so I must remember which one it was for future reference.  The kids crashed yet again and meant Martin and I could settle down to watch the DVD we hired.  “Second Hand Wedding”  It is a NZ film and set in Kapiti.  It was great and we thought it was well done and funny although I have to admit there was a tear shed by me at one point.

Sunday I was up and off on my run.  I ran a length of a block and walked a bit, turned around and ran half the block back.  I then proceeded to walk two lamp posts and run two.  This was a 15minute workout.  I have to ask anyone reading this how do I increase my lung capacity so I don’t feel like I have held my breath while running and therefore gasping when walking?  I think I could run further if only I could breathe.

Because I had eaten over my points limit by a slice of cake Saturday and a cupcake from Thursday and Pineapple lumps x 2 on Friday I knew I needed to burn more calories.  So once home from the run I Turbo Jammed and felt great.  Boy I needed a shower though.

All day I was aware of my eating though as needed to be light to even out the points as this is the last day of my week.  I succeeded and partly due to falling asleep on the couch so wasn’t tempted on a mid evening snack. When I did wake which was just in time for NCIS I noticed a very sore groin muscle.  I added Deep Heat and it helped a little.  I just hoped the pain would be gone over night, so I could get up and feel great and do my Turbo Jam session.

So here we are Monday the start of my new week.  I got up and weighed myself and I have lost 200g which didn’t surprise me from the eating I did but also means it evens out the big week I had the week prior.  And a loss is a loss.

I did a session of Turbo Jam and the whole way through felt the groin muscle and boy is it sore now just sitting here.  Standing it is sore and moving.  So lets hope with some more Deep Heat and Nurofen it will relax and part from me for tomorrow.  Cycle day tomorrow.  I hope I may be a little quicker than the previous time, although I gues the wind plays a part in that.

First off, Yesterday I got up and first thing after my glass of water was a session of Turbo Jam.  I tried the fast one again but had the instructors voice at the forefront so I could hear her advice.  It was a good session.  I also then got all the chores done somehow.  Beds made, lunches made, laundry folded, as pay day all the accounts paid and money shuffled, we were all dressed and had breakfast and out the door on time.

After dropping the kids off I had a list to work through.  Buying a gift for a boy’s birthday for the weekend , looking for an anniversary gift (without success), swapping a McD’s toy, catching up with a friend.  Then it was set up time for the Kindy Disco in the evening, I raced home to make a plate for supper, picked up Dayna from day-care was home for 5mins enough time to change a nappy and then out to pick up Isaiah from a friends.  Meet Martin from the bus and go shopping (fortnight of groceries), get home and changed (all 4 of us) for the Disco and go. phew.  What a day.

Kids had a late night and got home and crashed.  Martin and I wrapped the present and watched some catch up tv.  So a quiet night to end a busy day.

Yay, I got paid today so all my money will go to many things like new cellphones, Christmas presents etc.  The one thing I have done though and can’t believe it is…. wait for it.  Signed up to the Duathlon.  It is done.  Oh my goodness I have officially commited not only my time, emotions but now money.  It is quite emotional really.

Well there you have it I am a entrant into the More FM triwomen Duahlon on January 25.

After fluffing round a bit I thought I should have my breakfast.  With all we planned to achieve for the day I realised it was going to be a struggle to fit in the bike ride so without another thought I was dressed and ready to go.  Off I went whizzing through the route I now have made my own.  It was a good ride and I didn’t need to make the mini goals just to complete it.  Yay another training day ticked off.

We got out the door and shopped and shopped it was great.  Christmas sorted and homeward bound to change for the birthday party.  What a day.

OK so I woke up with a headache, but the morning has lots of chores. Folding laundry, making beds, making lunches, everyone to eat breakfast and get dressed, a quick tidy up and sometimes dishes getting washed.  So all this to do and the poor head quietly saying I’m not going away.

Well I was supposed to do a run/walk session of 20mins today and as I had no kids in my care all should have been well.  The weather is cool but not raining so really there were no excuses except this headache.  I finally took panadol as I was running out the door in hope that by the time I had taxied (if a word) the kids the ache would have gone.  Not

I got home and did some more chores and did computer stuff and even caught up on a TV show we videoed while eating fruit still hoping the ache would go.  Still NOT.

Well I made the call to go for a walk even though I felt gutted that a run wasn’t happening as I need to teach my body to run so I can hopefully run without stopping for 3km. At this point I want to laugh hahahahaha.

I got around the corner to a straight road and ran 2 lamp posts and then walked two and continued this all the way to the shops 10mins away.  I at least thought if I do it to start with then I have tried running and if my head starts pounding I can still just walk home as it would be the only way to get back.  I was so proud as I ran 2:2.  On the way home I couldn’t quite muster the strength so did my agreed quota of walk 3 run 1.  I am so proud of myself as I am seeing the strength or endurance happening.

My cheeks are red, I am wheezing and my back hurts but the head is fine so all good.

Tomorrow is a rest day yahoo.  But I am in such a rhythm I may miss the exercise.  I should count the blessings though as I have nearly finished the 3 week block titled ‘Fitness’.  Which means the next 3 week block starts called ‘Endurance’ with 40 or even 50min cycle rides 35min runs and the expectation that in 3 weeks time the time to achieve is shortened.  Is this a challenge or what.

Well off to enjoy the rest day, actually pick up Isaiah from Kindy.

If you live in Wellington you would know how the weather couldn’t decide what to do.  Drizzle, rain, warm winds, clear sky breaking, rain, drizzle.  I’m sure you get my drift.  With each of these weather changes my thought of exercise changed too.  Hope for the weather to clear, concern that it won’t, hope that it won’t.  Then concern that I really may not get out to do my cycle and pleased that the weather would make the decision for me not to go.

Well I had one of the children with me all day so would only get out for the cycle ride once Martin got home, but the weather was not clearing and biking in the drizzle or rain was concerning me as I am still learning to ride again after my high school years.

I could not put it off any longer it was crunch time.  So at 4.22pm I was mounting that bike and off I went.  Straight to the cycle track and pleased I was the only one on it, so I didn’t have to balance on the lumpy grass to avoid one person or another.  The track is smooth so makes the cycle a little easier although I had a slight side wind.  I liked it though as knew if it was hardish going then would be easier coming back.

Well I decided to cycle to the end 1450m and then get to the road and travel back.  On the journey back I realised how wrong I was, as I now had a full on head wind.  Boy was it tough going.  I wanted to quit and realised I had nearly done my 20mins so thought I could justify it.  Although with no way to contact my hero I would have to walk the bike home or just continue cycling.  So cycling it was. 

I had to make little goals just to help the will as it was tested.  First off I wanted to get to the drive of Avalon Park, yay I got there. Then the dairy and then the street with the Holly Hobby gate.  Once there I knew I really was on the home stretch.  To the round about I peddaled and only had one block to go, I pushed myself to the limits both physically and mentally but up the drive I rode.

Yay I did it.  I got to the door and there was a sad girl who had wanted to ride her bike with Mummy.  I was so apprehensive to mount the bike again but all in the love of a child and off we went down the street.  She was so slow I had to walk the bike as couldn’t wobble enough for her to catch up.

As soon as we were home I needed to prep tea as the recipe is in my brain so my well intentioned hubby couldn’t find it to make a start.  I checked the points and boy is it bad, so not to keen to consume it often although Nachos are yummy.

I have my run/walk tomorrow so lets see how I feel and how the weather reacts.